Ceradyne Critic Gains Board Seat

A major shareholder in Ceradyne Inc., upset with continued losses at the maker of industrial ceramic components, voted against the company’s slate of board nominees Monday to add its own director to the board.

R.B. Haave Associates Inc., a New York investment adviser, elected William Lamphear as its representative on the board at Monday’s annual meeting of shareholders.

But the board’s slate also was able to be elected intact after shareholders approved increasing the number of board seats from seven to eight. Joel P. Moskowitz, Ceradyne’s chairman, said the objective now is simply to move on in an effort to return the company to profitability.

The company’s first-quarter loss narrowed to $189,000, or 3 cents a share, from $487,000, or 8 cents, for the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose to $4.5 million from $4.11 million.

Haave stated in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it thinks “the company has not responded with sufficient speed to stem these losses nor effectively marketed through joint ventures its proprietary technologies.”